Social Memory and History

Reviews / Votes

Reviewing the connection between memory, history, and meaning, this volume is well researched, detailed, and thoughtful. It stresses the anthropological perspective that memory is dependent on culture and context. It is an excellent precis of how memory is constructed, how it works or does not work, and how individuals and different groups of people view it. -- Marjorie M. Schweitzer, Emerita, Oklahoma State University Each one of the chapters in this collection is creditable, and yet overall there is an imperative to pull together the flourish of innovative work on social memory and history, both within and beyond anthropology. * Cultural and Social History * The impressive breadth of material included in this volume reflects just how encompassing the concept of social or collective memory has become...The essays in Social Memory and History reflect both the strengths and potential pitfalls of current social memory research. -- Jason James, Lafayette College * The Public Historian * Climo and Cattell's collection of essays from a variety of fields address important issues related to understanding the construction of social memory. The contributing authors provide 10 case studies that demonstrate how memory transmits culture or contests it at the individual, community, and national levels. While the volume reaches across disciplines, it is also a major contribution to anthropology and it should be read by students and scholars interested in how history and anthropology can work together. -- Paul Shackel, (Professor and Director, University of Maryland Center for Heritage Resource Studies)